For Admitted Students

Incoming Student Assignment Priority

There is a randomized system for all incoming students who pay deposits on or before May 1.

Why is the process randomized?

The university follows a pooled admissions process in which most, if not all, applicants will learn of their admission at the same time: in late December or early January. This means a large number of deposits can be submitted during a relatively short time span. A randomized housing assignment process benefits all incoming students because distance from campus, timing of deposit entries into the database and other external factors may impact application dates.

Many students wait to pay their deposits until they receive information from the university that is not available until March or April. Honors students often want to know if they have been accepted into the program before committing. Students who must know what their financial aid package will be before determining if they can afford to attend won't pay deposits until that information is sent in late March or early April.

How does the process work?

All admitted students will receive housing applications with instructions to identify their top four preferences and submit them by May 1.

The Office of Residence Life will contact all students after this deadline to verify that they have submitted housing applications and answer any questions.

Applicants then will be given a random priority during the assignment process. When an applicant is to be assigned, the housing system matched application criteria (roommate, room type and hall) with available spaces. Preferences will be honored to the extent possible.

Roommate preferences will take precedence over room types and hall choices. We assume that rooming with a preferred roommate is more important than living in a particular building or room type if all criteria cannot be accommodated.